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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Did you expect...

Hey there, it certainly had been awhile since my last post. I know I just "disappeared", but I have good reason for that. My life is so completely busy at this point, I just do not have the time I used to for "recreational" things like posting on this little blog.

This year has certainly flown by, yes? It amazes me, and makes me happy too! This year has been a year of major changes, trials, and sacrifice for me, and I am so thankful that Hashem has been right here, by my side, through everything! I feel like I have been going through the "Rites of Incorporation" part of the Rites of Passage that Gavriella writes about here.

Well, enough about me now.

My mother found the article below and emailed me a copy - it is pretty good, and although it covers many points I am sure we all are aware of - freshening up these things solidifies them in our mind.

I am not sure who wrote this article, if I did I would definitely give due credit to her here. If any of you know who wrote this, please let me know so I can credit her!

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Did you expect to have a nice sparkly diamond decorating that finger by now?

Perhaps you’re
still patiently waiting for the right one to show up. You’re not about
to jump into a relationship with the next person you meet—you’re not
desperate. Just, well, waiting. And let’s be real here, most of us were
designed for the companionship of marriage, which in itself is a good
thing. But that desire for companionship is also a hard thing when
you’re a single young adult who feels ready to settle down.

So, what do you do with an empty ring finger that seems to stick out
like a sore thumb? That finger which shouts, “You are so alone! Well, as a single person myself, I’ve found the best thing to do is to
raise my hands—including my ring finger—to God in surrender.

But surrender doesn’t always come easily. Personally, my first instinct
is to want to be in control. I want to know. I want to plan. And I want
to worry about who, when, where, and how. Operating from that mindset, I
continually have to lay my plans down and say “God, I give this to
you.”

And God is good. He doesn’t forget me in my struggle to surrender, nor
does He grow impatient with me. Instead, He sends me gentle reminders
through His word. He assures me that my life is in His powerful hands,
so I can trust Him utterly and completely with my future.

Can I share
these reminders with you?

Why We Should Trust God

1. God is all-powerful and all-knowing

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Okay, doesn’t that verse just blow you away? God spoke
everything into existence—every single molecule! And not only did he
speak everything into existence, He knows every intricate detail about
His creation. He is so powerful, yet so intimate. He knows when a tiny
sparrow falls to the ground and exactly how many hairs are on ourheads (Matthew 10:30-31). How can we not trust a simple relationship to God, who creates all and knows all?

2. God loves His children and completes His work in their lives

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hand” (Psalm 138:8).
Charles Spurgeon shares this in his commentary on this verse: “God is
concerned in all that concerns his servants. He will see to it that none
of their precious things shall fail of completion; their life, their
strength, their hopes, their graces, their pilgrimage shall each and all
be perfected. Jehovah himself will see to this and therefore it is most
sure.”

Spurgeon’s words that “none of their precious things shall fail of
completion,” warms my heart. Is marriage one of your precious hopes? If
God has marriage in our futures, we can rest assured that He is going to
complete that hope. And if, for some reason, marriage is not God’s plan
for your life, He will realign your hope with His will and bring that transformed hope to perfect completion.

3. God wants good in our lives

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Often our definition of “good” is not the same as God’s. Sometimes our good may not
include marriage in the time frame we would like. But we need to trust
that God is not denying us something good. Perhaps He is simply giving
us (or our future spouse) an opportunity to grow so that our future
marriage will be sweeter and stronger. I don’t know about you, but I
would rather wait for the right person, the one God has shaped to fit my
heart, than to impatiently marry into a disaster. God knows the right
timing.

If you are at a season in your life where you feel like your singleness
is a trial, remember that God is using this time of singleness to shape you
into who He knows you need to be. Charles Spurgeon says, “For it is
often for the soul’s health that we would be poor, bereaved, and
persecuted. Our worst things are often our best things. As there is a
curse wrapped in the wicked man’s mercies, so there is a blessing
concealed in the righteous man’s crosses, losses, and sorrows. The
trials of the saint are a divine husbandry, by which he grows and brings
forth abundant fruit.”God blesses His children even through their
trials.

4. The Bible advises it

“Better to take refuge in the Lord, than to trust in man. Better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:8–9).
We often apply this verse to the counsel of others, but I believe this
verse also means: It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust
in yourself!

Charles Spurgeon writes in his commentary on this psalm that,“God has a
claim upon his creatures' faith, he deserves to be trusted; and to
place our reliance upon another rather than upon himself, is a direct
insult to his faithfulness.” Do you want to insult God by trusting
yourself over Him? I know I need to consider this question more often. I
need to ask myself: Why am I trying to take this into my own hands? Do I
really think that it’s better to trust myself rather than trust God,
who does abundantly more than I could ever ask ? (Ephesians 3:20)?

5. Worrying is bad for our health

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… Look at the birds
of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”(Matthew 6:25-27).

Worrying not only doesn’t do anything productive, it negatively affects
our physical and emotional health. What’s more, it demonstrates a
reliance on ourselves rather than on God. Oswald Chambers said, “All of
our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish
ourselves in our faith. Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise
resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief.” (My Utmost for His Highest).

So, trust the Lord. If it's His will, then He’ll get a ring on that finger at the right time. For the present time, be content and joyful in Christ, trusting His
faithfulness. Stop worrying, raise those hands in surrender, and praise
our wonderful, faithful Lord and Savior.

2 comments:

Thank you! Yes, it had been a good long while since my last post....It is a little difficult to find time to post with everything else I am doing, but perhaps one day my posting will become more frequent like the "old times" =D

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I Am A Writer {ENFJ}

I am a blessed 21 year old living in the peaceful country where I enjoy writing books, reading, singing, baking, over-thinking, and laughing with my siblings - among many other things. Pleased to meet you! I dearly hope you find encouragement here, at my little blog. Click this link to read my About Page...